At a June 6 City of Fort Smith Board of Directors meeting, a prolonged discussion resulted in a 4-3 vote on a non-binding “show of support” for police chiefs Nathaniel Clark.
Many citizens have expressed concerns that Clark’s intentions and Good’s insistence on allowing the chief to “do his job” to give him free reign in the hiring of FSPD officers at the level of sergeant and above are an attempt to force a solution to diversification issues.
While the police department specifically and the entire city as a whole needs to address hiring practices in general, many people feel the hiring of Clark-along with the extended attempts by Good and directors Tracy Pennartz, Mike Lorenez and Keith Lau to hamstring the Civil Service Commission-is an agenda driven campaign to mollify Good, who had his fingers in the “solution” pie as early as August 2016
In that June meeting this year, director Good, who has been the most vocal supporter of Clark and his intentions to gut the Civil Service Commission, tried to downplay the role of “diversity” in his opening statements before basically fostering a debate on the subject with his comments. The directors — both pro and con on the Clark proposal — spoke on the subject before the 4-3 vote was cast in the non-binding, meaningless show of support of Clark’s efforts.
Good, along with Lau, Pennartz and Lorenz, have been in lockstep throughout the entire process including an attempt to have local attorney Chip Sexton removed as the head of the Civil Service Commission when that board refused to even consider Clark’s hiring proposal.
Despite his public comments to the contrary, information uncovered in emails by Good in communication with City Administrator Carl Geffken starting ten months earlier show a pattern of “hiring a minority” in the top cop role a priority for the director.
Inside Fort Smith obtained 1,267 pages of documentation from a Freedom of Information Act request filed on July 3.
The city complied after two granted extensions and 18 days providing “all emails between the City of Fort Smith Board of Directors, Clark and the Fort Smith Civil Service Commission between May 2016 and July 2017.
On August 7, 2016 — before the list of potential candidates or the police chief position had even been assembled — Good was already inserting himself into the hiring process.
“From: Andre Good <good4ward2@gmail.com>
Sent: August 07, 2016 10:25 PM
To: Carl Geffken
Subject: Police Chief CandidatesCarl,
Any known African American woman or any other minority candidates for FSPD Chief?
Also, I would like to speak with you about the criteria used for this and the Fire Chief Positions. Do those that were in the final candidate pool get follow up calls letting them know that the position has been filled and given the opportunity to ask questions?
Andre’ “
According to the City of Fort Smith Municipal Ordinances, the city administrator — who is Geffken — has the sole responsibility of hiring departmental heads.
In fact, the board of directors do not even get a vote in the process, although Good certainly seems to want to interject himself in the process.
Geffen’s reply:
“Andre,
There is one candidate for Police Chief that may be African-American due to information contained in his resume. Of course, we are not given the EEO information since it is not allowed to be used in the hiring process until after the interview. After the interview, affirmative action requests if you have two equally qualified candidates, you hire the person who is a minority.
Thanks,
Carl”
Good asked for a list of the “eight final candidates’ for the job on August 8 just after 10 AM to which Geffken replied:
“We don’t have any final candidates yet. I don’t know how that rumor started. Jo Ellison asked me the same questions. We will be determining the final list early this week.”
Seventeen minutes later Good replied, interjecting himself into the process once more and insisting that there were no qualified candidates to promote from within.
“I need to speak with you. For the record we need to be looking to hire OUTSIDE of our agency. How many people do you have scheduled to be interviewed and is there a schedule for the interviews? I would also like a list of the initial candidates list.”
While Good, or any other director, should have no input on the hiring process his comments could be seen as a vote of no confidence for Mark Hallum the only FSPD in-house applicant that made the list of five finalist.
In a later email, Geffken concurred that Hallum would “make a good chief someday just not now.”
On August 9, provided the BOD an alphabetical list of candidates for not only the police chief job but for the HR director and Utilities Director slots the city was seeking to fill.
In an email from Good to Geffken dated August 16, 201 the director also planted another seed of doubt about the fairness of the process:
“I am being led to believe that the process for Police Chief interviews is already tainted. The term used is “the fix is most definitely in.”
I am concerned that the questions to be given during the interviews will be leaked out given a select few an opportunity to rehearse. I am also concerned that negative additional information on one candidates will be focused on with the exception of one.
This process is being scrutinized, watched and highly discussed. I trust you will consider these concerns of people as well as myself.
Respectfully,
Andre.”
Throughout the entire process, Good — or no other BOD member inquired about “African American or women candidates” who had applied for either the human resources of utilities position.
The negative additional information Good referenced is possibly the information that Clark had been “fired” from a position several years before with the Pine Buff Police Department over sexual harassment charges.
In Clark’s defense, he had been open. forthcoming and forthright about that situation on his initial application.
One question on the application asked if a thorough background check reveal anything of concern to the city or anything that will require additional explanation.
Clark replied “yes” and in the space reserved for clarifying comments wrote:
“2002 — Dismissed from the Pine Bluff Police Department based upon a false allegation. After a review the dismissal was “Rescinded” and I subsequently “retired” in good standing record unblemished) and began employment with the U.S. Department of Treasury upon a comprehensive background investigation (supporting documentation available for review).”
Pine Bluff officials refused comment on Clark’s departure from the department in 2002.
In addition to the job with the Treasury Department from October of 2003 to December of 2004, Clark also worked as a criminal investigator in Fulton County, Georgia, from November 2006 to March 2008 and in various positions with the Albany Police Department in Albany, Georgia, from April of 2008 until he was given the choice to “resign or be fired” from that department of March of 2016.
Geffken pointed out the Pine Bluff incident when he sent an email to the Board of Directors announcing the hiring of Clark in late 2016 and stressed that “the chief had explained it to my satisfaction.”
Next up: The post-hiring push, dissolving the Civil Service Commission and what some elected officials say when they think no one is watching.
